The health care picture in Hampton Roads is full of bright and dark spots. Brand new medical centers and technologies have improved treatment for patients, but a growing shortage of specialists and an ongoing struggle with certain illnesses put some residents at risk.
Construction equipment is out in force. In Newport News, Riverside Regional Medical Center is in the midst of a massive expansion and facelift. Riverside Health System also has bought 350 acres in Williamsburg, with plans to put in a nursing home and possibly another hospital.
Sentara Healthcare is busy building a new hospital in upper York County, which will replace its aging Williamsburg Community Hospital. Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters has expanded services at its medical center in Oyster Point. Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton and Obici Hospital in Suffolk are each less than four years old.
Many local hospitals are packed with cutting-edge equipment. A breast MRI center at CarePlex Hospital can spot tiny tumors, particularly in young women at high risk for cancer. In some operating rooms, digital cameras are giving doctors a clearer view inside the body.
Minimally invasive surgery is common, resulting in less pain and faster recoveries. Doctors now can do total hip replacements through two small incisions rather than a 10- to 12-inch cut. Some hospitals also have begun experimenting with robot-assisted surgery to make operations shorter and more precise.
Some of the most important work, though, isn’t high-tech at all. The Lackey Free Family Medicine Clinic in York County helps low-income diabetics control their blood sugars. The Peninsula Christian Free Clinic in Newport News runs an always-busy dental service. A center devoted to dementia patients recently opened in Williamsburg. The state health department is using a $250,000 federal grant to better spot post-partum depression and local doctors are working to lower obesity rates.
Unfortunately, there are other battles to fight. Hampton Roads regularly struggles with high rates of child abuse, stroke and infant mortality. AIDS is striking more women and young people, and syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease, has made a comeback.
Physicians also face rising malpractice premiums and lowered reimbursements for services. As doctors move out of the state or retire, the strain on some specialists is reaching a crisis point. Neurosurgeons are in short supply at local hospitals. So are obstetricians and ear, nose and throat doctors, who do everything from clearing breathing passages in an emergency to putting ear tubes in children with frequent and painful infections.
But back to the bright spots: Some of the region’s doctors are involved in nationally prominent projects. Emergency physicians in Norfolk are testing an artificial blood for trauma patients. The world-famous Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine also is in Norfolk. The Newport News-based Patient Advocate Foundation has helped people across the country fight insurance denials.
A variety of free support groups and nutrition and fitness classes are in place to help people stay healthy. Hampton Roads residents can even go to mini-medical schools at Mary Immaculate Hospital and Eastern Virginia Medical School to learn more about anatomy, surgical advances and healthy living.
As for those who do get sick, hospital perks might include in-room Internet access, custom-made meals and even — no kidding — valet parking.
HOSPITALS AND MAJOR MEDICAL CENTERS
Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters. 601 Children’s Lane, Norfolk. 668-7000 or chkd.org. The hospital’s Children’s Health Center is located at 11783 Rock Landing Drive in Newport News.
Eastern Virginia Medical School. Departments are in several different buildings in Norfolk. Call 624-2273 or go to evms.edu.
Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School. 601 Colley Ave., Norfolk. 446-7100 or jonesinstitute.org.
Mary Immaculate Hospital. 2 Bernardine Drive, Newport News. 886-6000 or bonsecourshamptonroads.org.
Obici Hospital. 2800 Godwin Blvd., Suffolk. 934-4000 or obici.com.
Riverside Regional Medical Center. 500 J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News. 594-2000 or riverside-online.com/rrmc.
Riverside Walter Reed Hospital. Route 17, Gloucester. (804) 693-8800 or riverside-online.com/rwrh.
Sentara CarePlex Hospital. 3000 Coliseum Drive, Hampton. 736-1000 or sentara.com/peninsula/sentara_careplex.
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. 600 Gresham Drive, Norfolk. 668- 3000 or sentara.com/hospitals/sentara_norfolk.html.
Sentara Williamsburg Community Hospital. 301 Monticello Ave., Williamsburg. 259-6000 or sentara.com/peninsula/williamsburgcommunity/default.htm.
MILITARY HOSPITALS
1st Medical Group. Langley Air Force Base. 764-6833, or for information on the base, go to langley.af.mil.
McDonald Army Community Hospital. Fort Eustis. 314-7500 or narmc.amedd.army.mil/mcdonald.
Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. 620 John Paul Jones Circle, Portsmouth. 953-5000 or www-nmcp.med.navy.mil.
Veterans Affairs Medical Center. 100 Emancipation Drive, Hampton. 722-9961. www1.va.gov/midatlantic/facilities/hampton.htm.
HMOs and HEALTH INSURANCE
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. 875-5760.
Anthem HealthKeepers. (800) 421-1880.
Cigna HealthCare of Virginia. (800) 468-2204.
Mid-Atlantic Medical Services Inc. (MAMSI). (800) 544-2853.
Sentara Healthcare (Optima and other plans). (800) 736-8272.
Tricare. (877) 874-2273.
Virginia Premier Health Plan Inc. 461-0064 or (800) 828-7989.
MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES
Eastern State Hospital. 4601 Ironbound Road, Williamsburg. 253-5161.
Keystone Newport News Youth Center. 17579 Warwick Blvd., Newport News. 888-0400.
Obici Behavioral Medicine Center. 2800 Godwin Blvd., Suffolk. 934- 4786.
Riverside Behavioral Health Center. 2244 Executive Drive, Hampton. 827-1001.
Sentara Behavioral Health Services. (800) 648-8420.
ELDER SERVICES
Contact the Peninsula Agency on Aging at 873-0541 for a listing of adult care facilities, nursing homes and home health agencies.
The Center for Excellence in Aging and Geriatric Health runs a clinic for dementia patients in Williamsburg and conducts research. For information, call 220-4751.
